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The Golden Age That Was Not: Why I quit Kavalier and Clay (in Rant Form)

It is actually hard for me to quit books. I can drop off them for a long time but I always pick them up again later. I finished two books earlier this year that took me a good two years each to read. Even short books like Casino Royale and The Third Man I’d dropped in the middle and had to pick them up again later just to finish them (though I fucking ended up loving them both.) I wish I was reader who could read fast and at multiples instead of just the latter. But wah wah that’s not much of an actual problem is it college boy?

Now you know I dig comics. I know some shit. I also cop to that I also don’t know shit either. But I have an idea and a bit of enough information on them. And on history. Enough that I know why I just couldn’t stomach The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay anymore.

It was all just so goddamn precious. Kavalier is Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Jack Kirby and that guy who did those awesome Captain Marvel Jr covers all rolled into fucking one whose a magician and an escape artist. BUT its okay because his family is trapped in Nazi Europe and we can swallow how fucking awesomely awesome he is because he has this one not awesome thing going.

Sammy is discovering he’s gay. That’s fine. No problem. I never thought about how, to be gay, you have to like the taste of semen and rectum in your mouth but damn you would have to wouldn’t you? Is twink offensive? The radio voice guy he’s tongue fucking is what I could imagine in my limited knowledge to be kind of the intro to gayness handsome twink kind of a guy.

Rosa Saks is the coolest avant garde super kind indie chick of the 40s in the world . Kavlier and Clay saw Citizen Kane and it inspired them. They got some radio and merchandise money in a time where creators didn’t get dick ever.

The whole thing isn’t distinguished enough to be an alt history and its too goddamn fantasy to be real and every character is the best person you could know and even there flaws are charming and you can never be turned off to them. Shitgoddamit.

Matt just finally gave up on this book too! Seriously, it’s still on his bedside table…. in the same GD spot it has been since we moved. He has started Y the last man again though and is really enjoying it. I started Transmetropolitan and like it…. seems like Spider Jerusalem is just Hunter S. Thompson in the future though